Reigning World Boxing Council welterweight champion Danny Garcia will make his first title defense in the second half of 2016. The undefeated boxer could eventually end up facing former world champion Adrien Broner.
Garcia, who has a perfect 32-0 record with 18 knockout victories, is willing to slug it out with Broner, BoxingScene reported. The reigning WBC champion said that he sees a strong reason to make the fight happen, pointing out that fans will surely love the matchup and could generate good pay-per-view numbers.
“That’s something that the fans always wanted because me and Broner, out of the pack, we made the longest stretch as being the most relevant boxers,” Garcia said. “The Broner fight would be a good pay-per-view fight.”
Broner, who has a 32-2 record with 24 stoppage wins, is a former welterweight champion but has moved down to the junior welterweight division after losing to Marcos Maidana in December 2013. The Cincinnati, Ohio native also took a unanimous decision loss to Shawn Porter at a catcweight of 144 pounds last year.
The 26-year-old is coming off a ninth-round knockout win over Ashley Theophane in April. He could have won the vacant World Boxing Association super lightweight title, but he failed to make the weight. After the bout, Broner revealed that he will likely return to the 147-pound division in his next fight.
On the other hand, Garcia became a hot commodity in the welterweight division after capturing the WBC title with a unanimous decision victory over Robert Guerrero in January. Floyd Mayweather previously expressed interest in facing Garcia, but it remains to be seen whether or not the former pound-for-pound king will come out of retirement.
Garcia, who is also a former junior welterweight world champion, could also face the winner of the upcoming bout between Keith Thurman and Porter. Thurman and Porter are scheduled to collide for the WBA welterweight title on June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Thurman, who is undefeated in 26 professional bouts, is favored to keep his title. The 27-year-old previously said that he is open to facing Garcia. The Florida native told Fighthype that Garcia will have difficulties fighting a real welterweight like him.
“I highly doubt that he's going to be able to go toe-to-toe with some of the real welterweights,” Thurman said. “Danny Garcia is not a true welterweight.”
Watch Thurman’s interview about his thoughts on Garcia below.